Avalanche: Chugach State Park

This was a large avalanche that is believed to have occurred naturally during warm sunny weather sometime between March 7 and 9. The debris was reported to be very wide and covered at least 1/4 mile of the trail, crossing all three switchbacks and reaching almost to the base of the trail.

The slide that buried a good chunk of trail appears to have started in two locations in the rocks near the ridgetop and merged into one big fan. Two more paths slid, likely the same day, just to the east of the trail; the toe of one slide is just a short distance from the bottom of the trail. At least two additional slides to the west released during this same event, one dumping debris at the end of Brownie Dr, another crossing Barclay Dr (where there’s now a 10’ high wall of snow after the road was cleared).

A few days prior to the slide, on 3/6, a snowboarder triggered a wind slab on the shoulder of the ridge that came within about 50’ of the trail where it approaches the meadows below the saddle. This is nearly the same path triggered in similar conditions by snowshoers 2 years ago.